One of the hottest products to reach the technology scene in recent years is the 3D printer. For years, such devices were all limited to industrial applications because of their vast cost. Nowadays, one can buy a 3D printer for home use that’s within the scope of most people’s budgets.

Are you willing to blow a few hundred bucks on a portable 3D printer for your home or office? If so, you too could start making all kinds of weird and wonderful objects with it! Of course, 3D printers have their sceptics as well as their fans. So, that begs the question: are 3D printers worth the money, or are they an overrated (and expensive) fad?

I’ve decided to list the pros and cons of 3D printers for you. They are as follows:

Pro: 3D printers can make anything

You might be wondering why I haven’t rephrased that statement and said “almost anything.” That’s because 3D printers really can make anything you want. Sure, it can create all kinds of inanimate objects.

But many folks have also experimented with creating food! The earliest experiments involved heating up sugar to construct food made of caramel. NASA is also working with some people to allow astronauts to “print” their food in space.

3D printers are also useful for those that want to print copies of parts that are no longer manufactured. For example, let’s say that you are restoring a classic car. It’s possible that the parts you need are no longer made. And that the manufacturer no longer exists!

Now you can create replacement parts for your car that work just as well. Most 3D printers use a form of plastic. But did you know you can also get 3D printers that use metal?

Con: There isn’t much choice

Websites like review3dprinters.org can help you to choose from the models on offer today. But unlike their ink counterparts, there isn’t a vast array of 3D printer models on the market.

Consumers don’t have much choice, and so that pushes up the prices of printers that are currently on sale. It’s likely new models will flood the market in the years to come. For now, though, we’ll just have to “make do” with what’s on offer today.

Pro: It’s easy to design stuff for 3D printers

I know what you’re thinking. You’ll need to be a computer geek or a scientist to use a 3D printer, right? The truth is anyone can use them! Some of today’s 3D printers come with easy to use software.

And for those of you that hate wires trailing across your desk, you can also get wireless 3D printer units.

Con: They aren’t cheap

When you go into a computer store, you can pick up a brand new inkjet or laser printer for around $50 to $100. But if you want a new 3D printer, the cheapest model will set you back around $500!

I mentioned earlier that there isn’t much choice on the market. It’s for that reason that 3D printers are more costly than ink ones!